Last time on 1 Boy, 10 Aliens, Leni obtained the amulet of luck, allowing her to become Lucky Girl. Unfortunately, the amulet's power also meant that her siblings suffer a string of bad luck as a result. And to top it off, the magic-wielding madman Hex is on the warpath to reclaim the amulet. Will the new hero prevail? Find out, as we tune in for XLR8 taking Hex in for one heck of a ride.
CHAPTER 7: SPELLBOUND
"Ooofff!"
Flying back-first through a wall is not a pleasant experience for anyone, especially if you were being propelled by a fast moving object. Hex found this out as XLR8 tossed him back-first into a wall. "Gah!" Hex shouted as he pulled himself up. "You wretched beast!" XLR8 retracted his visor. "Aww," the blue alien said, "you hurt my feelings." Hex fired more and more blasts at Lincoln, but with XLR8's speed, he couldn't even touch him. The blue blur then smacked the magical man away with his tail. "You're making this to easy" he said.
XLR8 then dashed at Hex, when suddenly, he slipped on a banana peel and flew into a new wall. He groaned as he slowly slid down it and changed back into Lincoln. "Man, that was unlucky of me" he said as he rolled on his back. He got back up slowly. As he did, he heard a voice he hoped not to hear.
"Hi Linky!"
Lincoln looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, Leni was running over in her Lucky Girl outfit and mask. Behind her was Lucy. "Leni, you don't understand, you're using to much luck!" Leni didn't listen as she landed a kick into the amazed Hex. Hex staggered back and fell over, landing on his back in the process. Leni then turned to her brother and smiled. "Hi Linky! Happy to see me?" Lincoln gulped nervously as he put a hand behind his head. "Uh Leni. I kind of have something to talk to you about…"
Before he could say anything though, a blast struck him from behind and knocked him away. Lincoln skidded across the dirt before stopping. Leni and Lucy looked in horror as they saw Lincoln try to get up, only to collapse. Leni turned to Hex. "Ok, mister magic guy. I hope you're ready to face…LUCKY GIRL!" Leni shouted as she ran forwards to punch him. The moment she got close though, Hex blocked the attack and knocked her away with his staff. Leni landed on her rear and slowly got up. "Ok, maybe you were ready" she said.
As Leni got up, she quickly realized something. Outside of maybe fifteen minutes of training, she had no combat skills. Unsure of what to do next, she grabbed a rock and threw it. The stone hit the the skull-faced man in the shoulder. He let out a grunt of pain and then picked Leni up by the collar. Leni began to sweat nervously as Hex ripped the amulet off. He scowled. "Drained. It will take hours to charge on his own." With a disgusted growl, he threw Leni down and opened a portal.
As he stepped through though, he felt someone tackling him from behind. "Hey! My brother gave that to me!"
Leni and Hex fell through the portal as Lucy finally managed to get Lincoln to his feet. They ran towards the portal, but it closed before they could reach it. "Aw man" said Lincoln. He turned to Lucy. "I thought that charm granted her luck." Lucy nodded. "It does," she replied, "but since she used a lot of the amulet's magic to find you, it needed to recharge. So his plans are going to be put on hold until he gets it back to power."
"Ok," Lincoln said, "so how do we find them?"
"Maybe I could help?"
Lincoln and Lucy turned their heads to see someone new. The person was a girl around Lincoln's age. She had fair skin, earrings shaped like a crescent moon, cozy-looking boots, purple shorts, and a pink shirt covered by a grayish-blue jacket. Her most peculiar feature, though, was that her hair was bright pink, like cotton candy. The pink hair was long and tied to her side in a braid.
The two siblings looked at the girl for a few seconds. "Uh, hi," Lincoln said at last, "I'm Lincoln. Who are you?"
"I'm Kelly Noel," the girl replied, "but you can call me Kelly. I guess. But I think I can help you. You just have to trust me."
Lucy and Lincoln looked at each other. "Should we trust her?" asked the white-haired boy. "Well, let's see," said the goth, "she came out of nowhere, is almost exclusively pink, and seems weird. On the other hand, we don't have any other leads on where Leni is, time is short, and Hex has the charms to make him invincible. So yes, we do trust her for now." The boy turn to Kelly. "Ok, we trust you. Now what do you need?"
"Just something that she owns, like a pair of glasses or a shoe. After that, I should be able to track her. I hope."
"You hope?" Lucy said.
Kelly gulped. "I never tracked down a human before. I just got here." The siblings eye's widened in shock at that comment. Or at least Lincoln assumed Lucy also went wide-eyed at Kelly's comment. "You're an alien?" said Lincoln. The pink-haired girl rubbed the back of her neck. "Sort of," she said, "I'm part of an alien species called anodite. They're an energy-based species that can manipulate mana, but that's besides the point. I'll explain later."
The two siblings shrugged. "Ok, let's go back home and regroup" suggested Lincoln. The two other girls nodded as Lincoln dialed up XLR8 again. Lucy and Kelly climbed on as Lincoln dashed off.
When the gang got back at the house, Lincoln turned back to normal and let the two in. When they got in, the siblings noticed that Kelly seemed more skittish with the extra people. She routinely dodged the other sisters like they were monsters from another world. Her breathing was heavier. She seemed to get a more anxious and nervous as the got to Lori and Leni's room. "You okay?" Lincoln asked. Kelly gulped.
"I don't like crowds" she said.
"How about you two stay in Lincoln's room while I get something that Leni owns" Lucy suggested. Kelly nodded and grabbed Lincoln's hand before he could respond. "So which one is yours?" she asked. The white haired boy lead her to his room and let her in. "Wow...it's really...small" Kelly said looking around. "It was originally a closet" he said awkwardly as he sat on his bed. "So, you're not from here?" he asked. Kelly sighed as she sat next to him.
"Yeah, but my dad was born here. He lost his family in a freak accident, where he was left an orphan. He was later found by a top secret organization of agents called the plumbers." Lincoln tried to stifle a laugh. "The Plumbers?" he said. Kelly blushed. "I know, I know. Can I continue?" Lincoln nodded. "Thanks. He eventually became one of the highest ranking agents. He also was attracted to females like a lepidopterran to honey. He loves meeting and flirting with women of any species. Then he met my mother, an anodite named Ceora."
"On a date?" Lincoln asked.
"In a prison cell" Kelly replied. "She was arrested for violating a law against aliens arriving on Earth without clearance or an ID mask. But after a while, the two became close. She was granted a parole and became my dad's partner, and later his wife. But not long after she gave birth to me, she vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Vanished. Since then, I've been all over the galaxy with my dad" the girl said. "It's not bad, but this is the first time I've been on Earth."
The two went silent for a while until they heard a sneeze on the outside. Lincoln opened the door to see Lucy sniffling and holding a pair of Leni's sunglasses. "I hate getting sick" she said flatly. "Me to" said Kelly as she grabbed the glasses and closed her eyes. Her hair began to flow up and out like she was underwater as she hovered in the air. After a few minutes, she fell back down as her hair returned to normal. "I think I know where she is," she said, "he's at the cemetery." Lucy smiled. "Perfect" she said before turning to Lincoln. "Lincoln, dial up Big Chill. We need to get there and fast."
Lincoln dialed the alien and turned into the phantom-like moth and opened a window. "Want to come?" he asked Kelly. "Well, you do look like you need someone with experience, so sure." Big Chill nodded and scooped the two girls up under his arms and flew off into the sky.
The cemetary was very creepy. Tombstones ran rampant like small stone hills or the teeth of a monster. Crows hovered around in the sky, cawing like a warning. Aside from the crows though, it was deathly silent. It also seemed to be perpetually dark with dark clouds in the sky and low fog creeping on the ground. It was a very scary place.
So sure enough, Lucy loved it.
"I always wanted to vacation here" she said as she ran a hand over a headstone covered in moss. Kelly shared a look with Lincoln, who was still Big Chill. "It's her thing" he said. "Right," she said, "so here's the plan. We'll try to find the amulets and destroy them and save your sister. Then we take out Hex. We go in, we get out, and only he gets hurt." Lincoln and Lucy nodded and headed off. Thanks to Lucy spending a lot of time in the dark, it wasn't hard for her to see where they were going. After a while, she stopped the two when they came to an area with several large stone creatures that resembled gorillas with purple lines on them guarding a cage. And in the cage was Leni. Big Chill and Kelly shared a nod before leaping into a swift ambush.
Big Chill froze one into a block of ice and shattered it with a kick. A second one lumbered over to crush him to bits, but he turned intangible as the fist passed through it and froze it solid. He then froze his fist and punched the head off the frozen thing. "Say cool" he said.
"Behind you!" Kelly shouted.
Big Chill turned to see a large beast about to bring both fists down on him. A pink disk smashed into the face of the monster. Big Chill turned to see Kelly with two more disks coming from her hands. With two swift movements, the disks slashed through the neck, causing it to collapse. Two more lumbered at her. At the last second, she ducked as they crashed and shattered into rubble. She then fired a blast that completely destroyed the final one. Lincoln looked amazed as he turned back to normal. "I've had a lot of combat experience" she said. She put her hand on the lock of the cage and destroyed it with a pulse of mana. Lincoln opened the door happily, but quickly felt something was wrong when he heard a sobbing sound. "Leni?" he said concerned. Leni turned her head. "Oh. Hey Linky" she said, her eyes red from crying. "You ok?" Lincoln asked.
Leni slumped forwards. "I ruined it" she said, her voice cracking. "What happened?" the white haired brother asked. Leni closed her eyes and told her story.
Leni and Hex tumbled through the portal and landed in the cemetery. Leni tried to get up, but was pinned by a rock beast. "Let me go! You can't do this to a hero!" Hex turned to her and laughed. "A hero? You? Everything that's happened to your family today is your fault."
Leni blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"The amulet of luck you were wearing gave everyone around you. You were a curse and a burden to your family. Although that's not that different from how you are normally." Leni's face fell. "But...but...the park...I saved those people...I, like, stopped the fire!" she cried desperately.
"Yes. After you started it. And you only did so because you had an amulet that grants you luck. Let's face it. You're nothing but a failure, with or without it. So long." With that, he turned and left as the monsters carried her away.
"And I've been sitting here thinking. And you know what. He's right. I only did totes awesome things 'cause of that amulet. And even then, it's because of dumb luck." She turned away from him and took off her mask. "Fitting for a dummy like me." She threw the mask aside sadly. Lincoln looked at it before picking it up and sitting next to her. "Leni, I'm sorry how you feel. And I'm sorry for not looking you in the eye and saying you weren't dumb last night. But you know what? I really know how you feel." Leni turned to him. "You do?" she asked.
"I sometimes think I'm only a hero because I have a watch that turns me into aliens. Without it, I'm just a boy who reads comic books in his underwear and has white hair" he said. "I mean, at least you have some really cool talents like your fashion or your lock-picking. Without the omnitrix, I'm just boring old Lincoln. But you know what? Without me, the watch is just a watch. It doesn't do anything on it's own. I'm the one who uses it." Leni looked at him before hugging him tightly. "I had no idea you felt this way" she sobbed.
Lucy turned to Kelly to see her tearing up. "It's just like those soap operas I watch with my friend" she said. The two siblings just hugged each other in reassurance.
"Aww, how touching!"
The tender moment was cut short with the arrival of the skull faced sourcer. Hex now had all of the amulets around his neck and had a golden aura radiating off of him. With a smirk, he shot a burst of fire at Lucy. Kelly countered with a disk of magic as Leni and Lucy snuck off and Lincoln ran out. Upon examining the watch though, he saw that it was recharging. "Oh come on" he said as Hex shot at him. Kelly tackled him away as the blast hit a tree. The two rolled on the ground until they stopped with the pink-haired girl sitting on the white-haired boy's chest. The two blushed at the awkward position they were in.
"Uhh...you're sitting on me" he said after a few seconds when she didn't move. "Huh? OH," Kelly said as she scrambled off, "sorry." She then rose up in a combat stance. "Lincoln," she shouted, "grab your sisters and run! I'll cover you!" "I think there's a problem with that plan" Lincoln replied. Turning around, she saw what she meant. An army of rock creatures were surrounding them. "Oh crud" she said. Hex laughed as he rose up in the air. "You fools! I can command fire! I have unbreakable luck! I control weather, plants, and the earth you walk on itself! I have intelligence and immortality! I am invincible!" Roots then wrapped around the two kids and lifted them off the ground. "Now the only question remains. How should I finish you two off?"
Leni looked back. Upon seeing the predicament her brother was in, something made her stop. She felt...well she couldn't really describe it. It was like anger, but it burned hotter. Her face turned scarlet as her breathing got harder. She slowly stomped over to Hex, growling slightly. "Leave Linky alone!" she shouted. Hex looked down at Leni and laughed. "What are you going to do?" he taunted, "you're useless!" Leni growled louder as her eyes turned a brilliant gold. "I SAID," she shouted "LEAVE! LINKY! ALONE!"
After that last shout, a surge of power shot out of her in a huge golden shockwave. The blast reduced the rock monsters to pebbles, destroyed the vines holding the two children, and knocked Hex out of the air. Hex got up and fired a blast of magic at Leni, but the teenage girl shot an even larger blast, which destroyed Hex's and hit him. The sourcer got to his feet and saw the amulets were knocked off of him. He ran for them, but was knocked away by a huge red arm. "That was for making Leni cry" Four Arms said. Hex got up to see something that made dread run through him. Kelly had gathered the charms together and with a blast of mana, reduced the charms to shards. "No! Nononononono…." the man with the skull tattoo said as the three faced him. "You haven't heard the end of me!" he shouted, "I will have my reven-!"
*WAM!*
The three blinked in surprise as Hex fell forwards on his face. Standing behind him was Lucy holding a shovel. "Hi. I'm still here" she said.
Hex was hauled off. While he was placed in the car, the four heros made ways to a nearby ice cream parlor. As they were walking, Lincoln stopped his second oldest. "Leni," he said to her, "thanks for being a hero." Leni smiled. "I wasn't being a hero. I was just being plain, dumb old Leni."
"You're not dumb" Lincoln said while looking her in the eyes. Leni chuckled and hugged him. "Hey Kelly," she said to the pink haired girl, "can I ask you a favor? You know that power I used back there? I want to know how to use it better. I want to be a real hero, not a dumb luck user." Kelly thought it over for a second. "On one condition. Lincoln has to be my new friend" she said. The other three looked at each other. "Sure" said Lincoln as he stuck his hand out for a handshake. Kelly pulled him in and hugged him.
Leni smiled happily while Lucy stopped suddenly. "Uh guys, I feel like we forgot something" she said. The others looked at her funny. "What do you mean?" asked Lincoln. "Ah, it's probably nothing," she said "now let's go. I want that pitch-black ice cream." The group shrugged and continued on. "I always wanted to try ice cream" Kelly said.
Loud Residence
"What did one pharoah say to the other pharoah? Have you seen my mummy?"
Luna groaned. She was still wrapped up from head to toe in the magical bindings with only her eyes showing. Luckily, she could still breath. Unluckily, she was forced to hear Luan trying some new jokes on her.
"What's a mummy's favorite music? Wrap! Get it? Get it?" Luna glared. "Geeze. I never knew someone could be so grumpy. I'm just trying to give you a good gag. Hehehe!"
I'll kill you Leni, Luna thought to herself, I'll get you if it's the last thing I do.
And here we go. Not only has Leni discovered that she has magical powers, but Lincoln discovered a new friend. But things aren't going to be sunny for long, as another friend Lincoln makes will prove not to be so friendly. Special thanks to Mademoiselle-Star 2018 for allowing me to use her character Kelly. And I hope to see you soon.